Innocent Smiles
by Songbird's Spirit
Summary: AU, The Reapers are gone and Shepard has made a home on the Citadel. But a lack of a job causes problems when she has to pay the hospital bills for Thane and the rent for her home. After months of failure a job opens up in the last place Shepard ever wanted to work. Daycare. But things just might turn out okay, after all, she can always drag Kolyat along with her if necessary.
1. Chapter 1

_**Innocent Smiles**_

"You need me to what?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"You said you needed a temporary job on the Citadel while you look for a more permanent one, right?" Bailey stated.

"Yes, I want a job...but this…this wasn't exactly what I was talking about…" Shepard bit her lip.

"Look, I understand your desire to be closer to Thane at a time like this." Bailey cajoled, "I understand that the Drell is finding the side effects of the cure to be difficult to handle, and you want to be by his side. But I'm not a god forsaken miracle worker Shepard."

The long-time soldier sighed warily. "What kind of work would I be doing?" She grumbled.

Bailey motioned for her to come around to see the monitor. He pulled up a site from the Extranet and showed Carina a nice-sized building she'd seen near the upper districts before.

"I've been searching and searching for a more permanent solution but it will take some time. With that said, an old friend visited yesterday and I might have slipped her a few details about your situation. Her name is Karin Flannery. She works at a daycare and cares for kids of just about every species." Bailey looked at her.

"Bailey…but I'm a soldier." Shepard protested.

"So was she," Bailey smirked and brought up a different file, "Special Ops _and_ Black Ops Military Grade Training and worked for both. She's retired now, prefers to stay and take care of the kids and her own kid. Her husband died three years back in combat, so she came back to be here for him, her son."

**(Shepard)**

"Codename Wilder…that sounds awfully familiar." I muttered.

"She was part of your crew for a few days during a mission. You were dropping her off along with a few different scientists on a planet in an uncharted star cluster." Bailey said absently and turned back to the monitor.

"Ah," I nodded.

There was a moment of silence before Bailey sighed and turned to me again. "Well Shepard I don't know what to tell you. It's either helping Karin with the Daycare or you will have no choice but to go back into the field on _another_ six year contract."

I considered my options. I could either risk working with children, and I'm not fond of those, or I could take an even bigger risk and keep searching…it was highly unlikely that I could find a job in time. I'd already been searching for a month. I needed to make some payments as soon as possible. Thane, Kolyat, and I were in serious danger of losing our apartment and getting Thane kicked out of the hospital because we couldn't pay. Kolyat was even starting to consider taking up his father's line of work for a while to help and that's the last thing Thane and I wanted.

"I guess I've got no choice." I sighed.

"Good, Karin's waiting for you at the café." Bailey gave me a cheeky grin.

I glared at him. "I swear, if you planned this-."

"I didn't plan this, if you took the job I wanted to make sure Karin would be here to meet you." Bailey sighed.

I grumbled but went to the Café nonetheless. I found the only human there was a rather skinny brunette woman. She was warming her hands on an old-fashioned mug and seemed to be having a good time chatting with the turian across the counter. I walked over and hesitantly tapped her shoulder.

She tensed reflexively and I noticed her fingers splay out and tense, a natural reflex to those coming back from war. It was the reflex of reaching for a gun…

She turned warily before a grin split across her face. "You're Carina Shepard?" she asked.

"Karin?" I asked.

"That's me, I guess Bailey sent you over." She chuckled.

The turian rolled his eyes and took her mug. Karin turned briefly to stick her tongue out at him. I must've looked confused because she found the need to elaborate.

"That's Ilex, he's an old friend. We go drinking together sometimes." she smiled.

"Drinking? Don't you run a daycare?" I tried not to glare.

The woman managed to look deadpan and amused at the same time. "Honey, I run a daycare consisting of twenty-six children minimum and a staff of three, myself included. And that's on a good day. You'll be begging for a proper sloshing by the end of the second day."

"I doubt that." I retorted.

"Yet I can guarantee it." she countered.

"I'm in the army and in peak physical condition." I said, "Did you factor that in?"

"My staff member, Abigail, doesn't have an ounce of military training. But, she does triathlons, marathon runs, and has a severe, yet medicated, form of ADHD." She paused to lean forward, "She didn't even make it to lunch."

I raised an eyebrow before taking a seat beside her. Karin gave me a gentle smile. "But it's worth it ya know? The smiles on their faces and the fact that they are so energetic…" she looked at her hands, popping her knuckles, "It's nice to see innocent faces after so much tragedy."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small grey colored square easily known as a credit cache. It held up to two thousand credits. "Here, for you." She handed it to me, "It's maxed."

I didn't even move to take it. "What? No, I couldn't." I argued.

"I guess Bailey didn't tell you the rest of my background…" she murmured absently, "Hon, I can assure you this won't go missed. Besides, Bailey told me about how you're husbands' in the hospital." she grabbed my wrist and put the cache in my palm. "My husband, Hiram, didn't die instantly. He was stabilized and rushed here. He didn't receive proper treatment afterwards because…well…we were both on military payroll. We couldn't afford the bills." She looked at me, "Hold onto him, for me and Hiram alright?" she gave me a bright smile, picked up the tab, and walked out leaving me gaping at her and clutching two thousand credits.

"That's Karin for you," Ilex walked over snapping me out of my shock, "She was called Wilder for a reason." He smiled a bit more calmly and then left to take another order.

I had to get home and tell Kolyat. I sighed; he was only nineteen and was so _moody_. We also had a sort of mother against son rivalry going on…

Ooh, he was so going to laugh at me for this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Innocent Smiles II**

Shepard tapped her foot against the tile flooring of the kitchen. An impatient huff escaping her lips as she ever-so-kindly waited for Kolyat to stop laughing at her. He was currently on the ground pointing and laughing at her. The laugh came out weird when it was translated through her omnitool. She admittedly was having a hard time speaking to Kolyat without the help of an omnitool. She was one of those people who had a problem understanding the same language when hearing it from different people.

It wasn't like that with her own language, thank Arashu, but she'd only learned Drell from Thane. Kolyat had grown up with his aunt and uncle whom of which had lived in another part of the city than Thane. Kolyat's dialect was a bit different from his father's. And since he wasn't slowing down his speech at all to accommodate that problem, she used her omnitool as a crutch.

Kolyat eventually stopped laughing but still carried a grin on his face that just docked on her pride. "You're working at a daycare? Arashu watch over whatever unlucky kids have to survive a day with you." He snorted and walked past her into the kitchen.

"You know at least I'm making an effort! You haven't found a job." Shepard retorted venomously.

"I have a job." He said coolly.

Shepard stiffened, praying to God and Arashu that Thane hadn't taken after his father. "What did you do Kolyat?" she asked and began reciting the key-codes to the safes where her old army gear and guns in her head…just in case she needed to blow some bones out if someone from the wrong crowd approached Kolyat.

After all, it only took her and two team members to take down everyone on Omega trying to get to Mordin, then getting to the turbines, and then it was the same while trying to activate them.

She was sure she could take a few unruly gangsters out with a few well-placed shots.

"It's nothing like what you're thinking." Kolyat waved his hands defensively.

Shepard gave him a skeptically unconvinced look.

Kolyat released a small frustrated sigh. "That contest I entered at the shooting range yesterday…I didn't win it but…the Spectre."

"Slow down Kolyat, complete sentences." Shepard lectured.

He took a deep breath, managing to sound annoyed. "I went to the shooting range yesterday. There was a shooting contest with a reward for six thousand credits. I didn't win; got eleventh place out of forty-five though. My shooting skills actually got me a job though. Apparently one of the Spectres was there, a turian one. He was looking for a good shooter to train some new recruits. He looked desperate, so he asked me if I would. Seventy dollars an hour on a four hour shift seemed pretty great considering." He murmured.

"That's great Kolyat, but why so much?" I asked.

"They're new recruits…like fresh from the boot camp and think they're made of steel and diamond." He chuckled, "I was like that for a time until my dad came back from a job and set me straight."

"Speaking of your dad, I was going to go and visit him in the hospital; tell him the good news." I said, "You're coming aren't you?"

"I'm sorry Shepard; my first job starts in an hour." Kolyat said sheepishly. "Are you going to spend the whole night with him again?" he asked.

"I will if I can manage to avoid the nurses. I swear Thane chose the _one_ hospital where they actually care about that 'visitation hours' crap." Shepard scowled.

"Have fun Shepard." Kolyat rolled his eyes and walked out the door.

**~o~ Outside the Hospital ~o~ Shepard ~o~**

I grumbled as I saw the sliding glass doors open and shut with the patients that entered and exited. I hated hospitals…the waiting, the pain, the drugs, risk of corrupt doctors, the smell, and most of all…the absolute scrutiny any race besides those native to the Citadel received.

Rushing inside, I made a quick stop at the front desk before dashing past directory, where everyone tended to get held up at, and headed directly to Thane's room. I had the number, to room, and the location all burned permanently into my memory. The door was slightly ajar and as I poked my head in I had to fight the urge to laugh.

My hubby was so _stubborn_.

Thane was insistently refusing to take another injection for the pain. The nurse, by this point, was trying to just stab him with it. He was too fast, too clever for her of course. The woman let out a frustrated snarl and tossed the syringe on the table.

**~o~ **

After the nurse stormed past her, Shepard came into the room. Surprised her hubby had not noticed her yet, Shepard leaned against the counter.

"Would you feel better if I did it?" she asked.

Thane was startled right out of his funk and snapped his head toward Shepard.

"Siha…" he whispered with a slight softness growing on his face.

"Hey babe," Carina smiled and went over to be beside him.

However Thane wanted to be much closer. With quick hands he pulled he Siha onto the bed to lie down beside him. Wrapped in each other's arms the two shared few words, preferring to just bask in each other's presence. Thane pressed a kiss to his Siha's head and smiled.

"I'm glad you came." He said.

"I'll always visit you Thane." Shepard sat up in bed, "I've got good news."

"And what news did you bring me?" he asked with a small smile.

"I found a job."

Thane's face bloomed with a smile. "That's great; what job did you get?"

"You have to promise not to laugh." Carina said sternly.

The Drell's head tilted with amused confusion. "…Okay…" he said slowly.

"I'm working at…a…daycare…" Shepard said slowly.

Thane raised a hand to his mouth to try and muffle the snickers. It didn't work. Laughter escaped in bits and pieces as Carina's face gained a furious and embarrassed red shade.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" Shepard scolded furiously.

"I apologize Siha." Thane roared, "The idea is too amusing."

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard muttered and turned away.

"Siha…" Thane smiled gently and took her wrist.

"Kids have never been my strong point Thane. I mean, I never got a chance to interact with my own _siblings_ before the incident on the Forager." Shepard slipped out of her shoes and brought her heels up to rest on the edge of the bed, "I'm afraid…damn I'm a fail to admit it, but I'm afraid Thane."

Thane raised a steady hand and rested it on his Siha's shoulder. "One cannot be prepared for everything Carina. Admitting you are not prepared for this does not make you a failure."

Shepard gave Thane a weary look before returning her gaze to the floor. "You don't suck at anything do you Thane…you Mr. Wise and All-knowing Drell you." Shepard joked as a ghost of a smile flicked on her lips.

Thane gave a Drell-version of an eye-roll and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hush Siha, and stop worrying yourself. You will be fine."

"Don't jinx me Thane."

"Do not…what?"

"Never mind…"

**~o~**

**Thank you to my reviewer! Nice to know someone liked the first chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Innocent Smiles III**

**Thanks for the review!**

**To my guest reviewer: Well that's not how it works actually. Shepard may be famous for her military achievements but she's still on a **_**military payroll**_**. Not only that, but buying her own planet would be pointless as her hubby, Thane, is going through side effects of the cure for Kepral's and needs treatment. She's been without a job for a little over a month too, so that's something to consider. **

**~o~ Shepard ~o~**

I sighed as I surveyed my outfit in the mirror. I looked completely normal/civilian for the first time in a while. I was casually dressed in blue jeans, white tennis shoes, and a violet waist-length asari-based shirt with a slight Japanese-style look to it.

In short, the outfit was a gift from Kaiden…

It was the only remotely normal outfit I had. No doubt he'd had help from Liara, but it still brought back uncomfortable memories of him. I didn't know where he was now and I honestly did not care. I was with Thane, I had a job, and I had no reason or time for him in my life anymore.

I left my bedroom and made my way to the kitchen. Kolyat was passed out on the couch, lightly snoring, and more than likely exhausted from his job. I smiled fondly at the sight. Thane claimed Kolyat was very much like his mother. So I had an idea of what she was like. Thought I still often wondered exactly what she had been like.

Shaking myself from my musings, I began to quietly raid the kitchen for some food for lunch. A few sandwiches were available but their freshness was questionable. I decided the best thing to do was to make my own lunch. I managed to throw together an egg-salad sandwich, some old chips, and a bottle of water in the bag.

Feeling bad for my son-in-law, I also threw a half-prepared breakfast meal in the microwave for him when he decided to wake up.

Slipping on some elastic cloth shoes, also of asari design, I silently opened the door and slipped outside. Now I just had to get to the Daycare…

I went down the elevator to the lobby, paid the bills as I passed the counter, and stepped outside into the artificial sunlight. In the garage were a few trans-cars, free for resident use, and stepped towards one.

"All Day-Care, in Upside, Z Level 42." I gave the coordinates to the computer.

** *Right away Carina Shepard* **It responded.

**~o~**

Shepard arrived outside the All Day-Care in record time thanks to a lack of traffic so early in the day. Well, thinner traffic would be a more appropriate term but she was early nonetheless. The woman, feeling self-conscious, hurried to the sidewalk and cautiously opened the door.

Karin was already rushing about accompanied by two others. Carina cleared her throat gaining the lead-woman's attention.

A bright smile bloomed on the woman's face, way too bright given the time of day, and Karin hurried over to Shepard and tugged her inside.

"Okay Shepard, I hope you adapt fast because things won't be slowing down, got it?" Karin said breathlessly.

Shepard nodded wordlessly.

"Not talkative yet; we'll fix that." Karin gave a good-natured smirk, "Okay, the man and the woman that was rushing beside me, that's Oliver and Hailey, they'll help you out. A few kids are here already. The kids love meeting new people, so get ready to meet some kids hon." The entire time Karin talked she yanked Carina around the room.

"Here let me get that," The woman, Hailey, offered and gestured to Shepard's lunch bag.

Shepard quickly loosened her death grip on the bag and hesitantly handed it to her.

Carina Shepard wasn't nervous; no she was absolutely terrified. She was a kid person by any means. So now that she had to work with them daily, she was about to go into cardiac arrest.

"Ms. K, Ms. K!" a young girl's voice flowed through Shepard's translator.

A group of kids, three in all, came charging at her and Karin. There was a Turian girl, a hanar, and another Turian, this one a boy.

"Ah, our three early birds," Karin knelt down and smiled at the kids, "Everyone this is Mrs. Carina. She's going to be helping us out today."

The turian boy pushed his way forward. "I'm Jex," he declared and puffed up his chest.

Carina couldn't stop the small smile that came to her face. He was a confident little one. Maybe she could do this…

"You seem like a tough boy." Shepard commented.

The boy cocked his head to the side before turning to Karin with a sheepish look. "Ms. K…" he said sadly.

"Yes Jex?" she replied.

"My chip is broke again…" he sniffed.

Karin bit her lip. "Oh Jex," she glanced at me, "Jex comes from a wealthy family. They opted to try a chip implant to translate instead of letting him use an eye-visor. But the chip isn't reliable and tends to break down, so he often can't understand anyone." Karin sighed and rocked the crying child.

"It's hard for him, he likes to talk here because his parents and…well you know how it goes with busy parents." Karin gestured to the other kids, "Why don't the two of you introduce yourselves while I help Jex?" she suggested.

The hanar came forward and Shepard smiled.

"Ameri Sara cluse." Shepard said in a vocal version of hanar she's learned from Thane.

The Hanar jiggled happily and waved his tentacles in a hanar version of a smile. "Hi, we are Opus." The hanar, a girl, said cheerfully.

"We are Mrs. Carina." Shepard put a hand on her chest and sat down Indian style.

The hanar let out a trill from her aura and curled up in Carina's lap. Nervous butterflies settled in her chest but she laid a friendly hand on the alien child nonetheless.

The little turian girl cautiously walked forward and put a hand on Carina's arm.

"Are you okay Mrs. Carina…?" she asked.

Shepard smiled kindly at the girl and ruffled her fringe affectionately. "Of course; and what's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Pasca." She answered and tugged on Opus.

Opus rumbled with annoyance but followed Pasca after a moment. A shrieking trill came from across the room, startling the children and scaring the life out of the woman coming in the door.

This one was a human.

"What's going on?!" she demanded.

"I've got this Carina," Hailey assured Shepard, "Go check on Karin and Jex."

Shepard nodded and headed back to the office where Karin was trying to calm a crying turian boy.

"What's going on?" Shepard asked.

"He's panicking because he can't understand anyone." Karin sighed.

Carina thought hard for a moment and then had an idea. "One moment." She said.

Taking off her own visor and taking a band off her wrist, Shepard put the band on Jex and attached the visor to his eye.

"Can you understand me Jex?" Shepard asked.

"Y-yeah," he hiccupped, "Thanks Mrs. Carina."

Jex hopped off the table to join his friends and Karin was shocked by Shepard's willingness to do such a thing so early. She was more surprised that her visor worked when Jex's chip was supposed to make such tech malfunction.

"How did it work?" Karin demanded.

"What?" Carina asked.

"How did you get the visor to work for Jex?" she asked.

"That band I was wearing, it suppresses biotic powers. But it also suppresses chips and upgrades as a side effect. I thought it would work." Shepard replied.

"That was, very noble of you."

"Thanks," Shepard nodded.

**~o~**

**Thanks to my other reviewer!**

**Embrium: Thanks, I'll make sure to keep the story flowing best I can. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Innocent Smiles IV**

Shepard decided that Karin may have had a point when she said this job was exhausting. So far there were fourteen kids in the Daycare, Pasca, Opus, and Jex included.

So far, there were two humans, twin boys named Felix and Farrow; four more turians, one girl, Lorene; and three boys, Julios, Gyan, and Kato; a female Drell, Vela; and three salarian boys, Gars, Hewitt, and Queli.

Shepard was rushed off her feet trying to get the right snacks to the right children. It was hard to tell the difference between amino, dextro, and any other food types. So far there weren't too many issues, but Shepard would admit there were some kids she favored over others.

Shepard really liked Pasca, the little turian girl she'd met early in the morning. She was quiet and sweet.

Felix and Farrow were rowdy, like most human boys, but they also seemed to have a sort of 'playground crush' on Pasca and Delia respectively. Delia was not here today, but when she asked Oliver who she was he laughed and said she was an asari.

Julios and Kato were brothers. While Julios was bossy Kato was rather peaceful and was a fan of everyone. He was quick to offer a hug to anyone who was upset. And since the salarian boy, Hewitt, was scared of his own shadow Kato was often next to him. Apparently the children just didn't care about dextro and amino whatsoever.

Lorene was the first person Shepard was skeptical of. It was obvious the turian girl had a superiority complex and was often found bossing around Gyan, the last of the boy turians to arrive that day. Shepard often saw Gyan trying to go and play with Vela, the Drell, when Lorene wasn't watching. It was obvious that Gyan desperately wanted Vela as a friend but was too scared of Lorene to go and say anything beyond hello.

Gars and Queli weren't brothers but they were close. Both were troublemakers and had already doused Shepard with bowls filled with water from the fountain…twice…

Not only that but they also seemed to be close with Jex.

However the two salarians were just so loveable to scold for more than a few seconds.

Thank god it was snack time, so all the kids were eating…

All except for one apparently…

"So he didn't join the others again…" Karin murmured.

"Who?" Carina asked.

"Sian…" Karin sighed and a small frown flickered on her lips.

"Sian, I don't think I've met him." Shepard replied.

"I'm not surprised…Sian is a Vorcha…" Karin whispered.

Carina was shocked and now a little uncomfortable. Sure she had shot turians during her time on the Normandy, but she knew it was their choice and not all were like that. Garrus was a fine example of such. But Vorcha, Shepard would admit she never thought twice when shooting a Vorcha.

She wasn't aware that they weren't all bloodthirsty.

"Sian isn't…he's not very good around other people. The other children won't give him a chance. They think he's too scary. Some kids even bully him or run away. He hides from everyone…" Karin shared softly.

"He never comes out?" Shepard asked.

"Well, right about now he'd be with Opus." Karin said thoughtfully.

"Opus, why him?" she asked.

"Opus is usually restricted to a tank as he can't be out of water for _too_ long. Sian believes he's safe to be around." Karin told her.

"Can't we do something to help him?" Shepard asked.

Karin shook her head. "I don't think so; Sian isn't too keen on meeting new people." Karin replied.

"Oh, can I try?" Shepard asked anyway.

Karin gave Carina a strange look. "Why are you so adamant about this?" Karin asked suspiciously.

Reaching into her back pocket, Shepard produced a photo of her, Thane, and Kolyat. They were all in a desert and laughing at Carina. The wind had been causing problems for her all day that time.

"See the blue Drell in the middle? That's my son Kolyat." Carina smiled, "Before Thane and I got together the boy didn't get to see much of his father. Then his mother died and he had to stay with relatives. He didn't have a lot of friends…" Carina pocketed the photo, "I want to prevent that if the opportunity arises."

Karin smiled at the woman. She wasn't so bad.

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Karin replied.

**~o~ After Work ~o~**

By the time Shepard made it to the couch she was ready to curl up in a fetal position and conk out for a good nine hours. Kids were so _exhausting_.

"Hey Shepard, thanks for leaving breakfast out this morning!" Kolyat called out loudly as he walked in the door.

Shepard moaned from the volume of her step-son's voice. Kolyat walked into the living room after getting a snack and gaped at the sight of his step-mother. "Jeeze Shepard, you look like s-I mean…you don't look so good." He corrected his slip up.

Shepard glared at Kolyat. "I didn't need to know that after today." She growled.

Kolyat shrugged and plopped down on the couch near Shepard and turned on the Galactic News. Shepard growled in annoyance.

"You have a vid-screen in your room. Must you use the one out here?" she griped.

Kolyat gave a shrug. "I thought you'd want to see this." He muttered.

"What?" she asked.

The wide vid-screen was panning in on the Daycare. A woman appeared in front of the camera and began to talk and gesture to the building.

"Turn up the sound Kolyat."

"Sure thing," he nodded.

***All of us Citadel Citizens know of the reliable Daycare we all send our children to, right? However, just how reliable is this 'special care-giving facility'. You may be shocked by what we reveal to you in this Breaking Galactic News Report!***

"I hate that woman." Carina muttered.

"Dad said you've punched her before." Kolyat commented.

"Twice, I punched her twice." She corrected.

"Why?"

"I don't like her. She's a bold-faced liar."

***In light of new evidence, we've heard rumor of a VORCHA CHILD attending the Daycare! A VORCHA among our **_**civilized**_** children! WILL WE STAND FOR THIS?! Oh-.***

"I don't like her." Kolyat said simply.

"Yeah, I don't doubt that." Shepard sighed.

***Well, um, this just in…it seems that Carina Shepard herself is now working at the Daycare…* **

She paused and cleared her throat.

*What that means for the Daycare, I am not sure…But, here's the weather.*

"Huh, wonder what her rush is…" Shepard mused aloud.

Kolyat shrugged and leaned back on the couch. "Did you visit your father today?" she asked.

"No…" he sighed and sat up straight again.

"You need to Kolyat," Shepard scolded, "If you can't visit him at least call him…"

"I know…I just…" he sighed. "The fact that there is a cure is great and all but…sometimes it still feels like dad still has the sickness. It was hard enough to see him before that and he doesn't look any better; even though he's supposed to be recovering."

"Kolyat…" Shepard whispered and put a hand on his shoulder.

Kolyat shrugged her hand off and she gripped his sides. "Kolyat," she said sternly before softening a bit, "Let's go see him together okay?"

"…Okay." He nodded a faint smile on his lips.

**~o~**

**Oh I just want to hug all of you! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'll address you all here.**

**Guest: Okay then, you're really adamant about her being all rich aren't you? Well, aside from that, she doesn't have time. She has to work to pay the bills. She doesn't have the time to go scanning for resources and selling them. And if all else, I just don't want Shepard to be rich. To me that doesn't seem logical to the storyline. So, author's preference…? Thanks for the review. **

**Embrium: Thank you so much! That really made my day! I'm glad I succeeded in putting some cute moments out there. I like to humor people and make them smile if I can. Thank you for taking the time to review!**

**Orchidellia: I'm glad you think so! Depressing stories huh…yeah I can see hoe that's happened. But I like to write about good things instead of sad. Making someone smile is something I like to do. I'll make sure to get more chapters out; thanks for taking the time to review!**

**A Person: That username made me smile. You separate yourself from the other guests at least! Glad you love it, I'll post more soon! Thanks for the review!**

**Ciao for now,**

**Songbird 0.o**


	5. Chapter 5

**Innocent Smiles V**

**Okay, thank you for the reviews! However, my persistent Guest is still very adamant…Let me say it bluntly…SHEPARD IS NOT RICH IN THIS STORY! GO WITH THE FLOW MAN!**

**Ahem…Anyway, to address that, your ideas are very good…crafty even. In such a case, please make an account and write your own story if you so desperately wish to instill ways for Shepard to become rich. If you already have an account and just don't sign in, well then, chop, chop. **

**However, your ideas are interesting to listen to; I'd rather just keep my story the way it is. Now, to my reviewer who had something relevant to say…**

**Embrium: Yeah, me too; I'll get to work on this and the next chapter soon. Thanks for the review.**

**~o~**

Carina Shepard was in no way going to change her opinion…she preferred the other group from her first day to this one…

Sure, Felix and Farrow were back and so was Pasca. The humans were always here apparently. But now, the roster had changed a little. Shepard was having a hard time keeping track of everyone too.

"Are you alright Shepard?" Karin asked.

"How do you keep track of everyone?" Shepard asked wearily.

Karin laughed lightly. "Well, that's the hard part." Karin thought for a moment. "Well, we never have over twenty-one kids. Pasca, Felix, Farrow, Julios, Kato, Vela, Jex, Opus, and Hewitt are always here. But the others, Lorene, Gyan, Gars, Queli, and Sian are only here occasionally."

"And who are the new kids?" Shepard asked.

"Well, you noticed Pasca, Felix, Farrow, Julios, Kato, Vela, Jex, Opus, and Hewitt are here," Karin mused, "We have four new kids making thirteen our number today."

"What about Sian?"

"Fourteen then," Karin corrected herself.

"So then," Shepard murmured, "Who are the new kids?"

Karin pointed them out as she went along. "We have twin asari girls; both are half Turian, whose names are Reala and Regale. Then we have Jortalis, he's the little Krogan over there next to Pasca and Opus. He's just the cutest little thing when he's near Pasca."

"How come," Carina asked?

"He's protective of Pasca and since Reala has something against Pasca, it comes in handy." Karin smiled, "Not only that, but Jortalis is protective of Sian too."

"So who's the last one?" Shepard asked as she smiled fondly at Jortalis.

"Well…that would be…"

"Me…" a low yet distinctly young voice came from beside her.

Carina looked down to see a young Volus child in a full-body Eco-Suit. With a sway the Volus turned away and pushed the others out of his way. When the Volus got to Pasca he actually picked her up and took off with her, setting her down in a chair and pushing a box of crayons in her hands. The moment Pasca tried to leave; the Volus grabbed her long fringe and pulled her back, causing Pasca to cry out.

Karin and Carina watched in shock as the chaos unfolded. The scream seemed to snap something in Jortalis and Jex as they both charged at the Volus. Jex ripped the Volus off of Pasca while Jortalis picked up the whimpering girl and carried her over to the dollhouses, nuzzling the girl with childlike fondness. Pasca put her arms around Jortalis and cried causing the Krogan to hug her closer.

Karin rushed over to break up the fight between Jex and the Volus.

"That's Homulos," Hailey said as she passed, "His father got it in his head that he can have anything he wants. He really wants to be friends with Pasca, but she doesn't like him because he hurt Opus one time. It doesn't sit well with him that she doesn't like him."

Carina was intrigued. If she placed them into categories,

These children were more complex than she thought. Pasca seemed to be like the shy girl everyone liked. Gars, Queli, and quite possibly Jex were troublemakers like Felix and Farrow. But the human twins also had crushes on the shy girls. Hewitt was the scared one everyone thought was weird but Kato was the calm and collected one of the group who stuck up for everyone and provided a sense of safety. He was mature for his age. Jortalis was the old fashioned teddy bear giant that everyone loved…while Opus was shy but sweet and Sian…

Well she hadn't met him yet.

"My god," she whispered, "It's like high-school but smaller."

Oliver, who overheard as he passed, promptly burst out with laughter.

**~o~ Carina ~o~**

I walked over to Jortalis and Pasca, feeling the need to soothe the crying girl. However, Jortalis growled as I got close. "GO AWAY!" he barked.

"No, Jotty," Pasca sniffed and looked him in the eye, "That's Mrs. Carina. She's really nice and helped Jex yesterday." Pasca sniffed.

Jortalis gave Shepard a wary look before relaxing and refocusing on Pasca. Pasca was snuggling into the Krogan's neck and he patted her back comfortingly. "Don't worry Pasca, I'll protect you." Jortalis murmured and Pasca leaned back.

I sat down nearby which caught the Turian girl's attention. She pulled Jortalis over to me and then gestured to some of her friends. Before long I was leaning against the wall with Pasca and Jortalis cuddled up in my lap, Kato and Hewitt were snuggled against my right side, Opus took my left side, and Jex came over and leaned against my left knee.

They were all so cute. But I wouldn't say it out loud.

**~o~ Later that Night ~o~**

"I wish you could see them Thane" I said into the earphone.

My husband gave a calm trill of amusement, "I wish I could too. Watching you interact with children would be quite the spectacle." He chuckled.

"Thane," I moaned and his snickered increased in volume.

"I really do with I could. These children are the ages in Kolyat's life I wasn't around for. To see a child in that time of their life fills me with a sense of…pain and regret, but also wonder." Thane admitted.

"Well, Kolyat doesn't have work tomorrow and I do…"

"Siha, what are you planning?" Thane asked suspiciously.

"I was thinking about bringing Kolyat with me tomorrow." Shepard replied.

"…You will force him to tag along no matter what either of us says, correct?" Thane stated after a moment.

"Yup," I answered.

"Well, I will be praying for my son's safety tonight then…Goodnight Carina."

I started as the ear bud and the line went dead and huffed. Why would Thane need to pray? Kolyat would be fine…

**~o~**

**Well that's chapter 5. Please give your thoughts, and see you in the next chapter.**

**Songbird 0.o**


	6. Chapter 6

**Innocent Smiles VI**

**Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for the reviews! You guys are great. **

**Embrium: I know, the sight of Kolyat being piled on by kids is so cute! I think he'd be reluctant but then he'd learn to just love it. **

**Orchidellia: You had cancer? Are you okay now? My Grandma had lung cancer and didn't make it…I hope you stay healthy. Thane will be getting out of the hospital. He'll be coming home a little later. The checks have to be run and yeah…I'll take him out of there soon. And don't worry about Kolyat. He'll be fine…maybe… :D**

**To Guest: Well then I'm sorry, but I don't see what point you're trying to convey. Please just tell me, otherwise I can't understand. I'm an author, not a mind-reader.**

**Mwah ha…HA!**

**Onto the story :P**

**~o~ Shepard ~o~ **

"I refuse to do it."

"Come on Kolyat, you'd love it."

"No way, I hate kids!"

"Kolyat!"

"Okay, I don't hate kids but I'm not going with you!"

"Please, they'd love you!"

"No, they wouldn't!"

"My god you are so…so…hissy."

"I am not!"

"Then why are you so against the idea?"

"I just, I don't know."

"For Christ sake Kolyat, I'm asking for one day! It's not going to kill you."

"But…"

He sighed and paced back and forth. For the past few minutes we had been arguing about this. He didn't want to come to the daycare, but I wasn't leaving the house without him. Kolyat finally just sighed and gave me an annoyed look.

"Fine, I'll go…" he grumbled.

"Great, wait here." I smiled brightly.

I went into my room and put on my old black N7 sweats and then went into Kolyat's room. He immediately noticed this.

"Whoa, hold on! You can't just barge in here! What are you doing?!" He ranted.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You have to change clothes." I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

His throat expanded and turned an annoyed grey. "Why the hell do I have to change clothes?" He growled.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Kolyat, those are assassin clothes for one, filled with secret knives. You can't bring those things in a place full of kids!" I said in a weary tone.

He scrunched up his tiny bridge of a nose. "So what am I supposed to wear?" He asked reluctantly.

"This," I handed him some clothes.

He held the fabric between two fingers. "How do I even put this on?" he asked.

"Here," I sighed.

It was an under-armor short-sleeved shirt, worn jeans, and I allowed him to wear his boots. When I first married Thane I quickly learned that certain fabrics, namely cotton and blue jeans, easily agitated their skin. Worn jeans, where the fabric was smooth and well-cared for, it didn't hurt so much.

I had also soaked them early in some softener for Drell based needs…

He looked cute.

"That, is an absolutely precious look." I teased.

"Shepard!" Kolyat moaned.

I rolled my eyes and tugged him to the kitchen. "C'mon Kolyat, let's make some breakfast."

**~o~ At the Daycare ~o~**

"I don't know about this Shepard…" Kolyat murmured.

"Well, no turning back now." I said.

I pushed my step-son through the door and into the building. There, I was met by Karin. "Hey, how's it going?" I asked.

"Fine..." she said slowly, "Who's this?" she asked.

"This is my Step-Son, Kolyat Krios." I answered.

I gave the teen a little nudge. "Hi." he said awkwardly.

Karin giggled at his awkward reply. "Hello Kolyat," Karin gave him a warm smile, "Welcome."

"Uh, yeah…" he nodded.

"I'm glad you're here. We could use some help." Karin turned to me, "Alright Carina, today we have Pasca, Felix, Farrow, Julios, Kato, Vela, Jex, Opus, Hewitt, Sian, Jortalis, Gyan, Gars, and Queli. That's fourteen children okay?" Karin smiled.

"Alright," I smiled.

"Oh, Pasca's over there with Jortalis. Could you see what they're doing?" Karin pointed to the dollhouses, "I'll show your son the schedule."

"I'm her step-son." Kolyat protested.

"Whatever kid," Karin replied.

I chuckled at them before going over to see Pasca and Jortalis. Opus and Jex were there too. "Hey you guys." I smiled.

"Mrs. Carina," Pasca nodded.

I thought that was a little weird so I walked over there. "Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied still sounding distracted.

I frowned, something was going on. "Pasca." I said a little more forcefully.

She jumped and seemed to snap out of it. "Mrs. Carina!" she yelped. "Hi…um…we…" she quivered.

I ruffled her quills affectionately. "Hey, hey, don't get upset. You're not in trouble." I cooed.

"Oh, okay…" she smiled with a tiny giggle.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We found someone back there…he won't come out…" Pasca said.

I raised a brow and then realized, _'They must have found Sian.'_ I mused mentally with slight alarm. How was I even supposed to handle this?

Hand me a gun, give me a target, and have a good reason and I could get the job done without much more than that.

You could even hand me two different foods and I could tell you which one was amino and which one was dextro…despite the fact it wouldn't have mattered to me because I could have either without side effects…but that was beside the point.

But…put me in a situation where the preschoolers I help care for finally discover they have a Vorcha playmate among them with notably intense shyness issues…I don't know what to do, there's a thousand different ways that could play out.

Not to mention I hadn't even seen the little guy yet and I was already feeling this extreme sense of one-sided awkwardness because I'd killed his kind before without hesitation…

_ 'Great…now I have a mental guilt for killing Vorcha…this job really isn't good for my health.'_ I mused mentally as I also watched over the kids.

I remembered that Sian felt safe around Opus. I didn't know how she felt about that but…

"Hey guys," I said, "Move over and maybe he'll come out."

The kids hesitated for a moment but parted to avoid being sent to the corner. I peered into the dark gap between the crates stacked behind the dollhouses. The crates held games and doll clothes…and were also hiding a Vorcha child in their crawlspace.

"He looks weird." Farrow remarked and Felix made a sound of agreement.

I stood up and spun around to give the two of them a stern glare. "That was very rude." I said with a strict tone.

"But it's true, he's a weirdo." Felix retorted this time.

"Both of you," I said with a slightly raised voice, "Are bullying him. You called him weird, how would you like it if you were called that?"

"We are weird!" Farrow smirked, "We like it."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so for the rest of the week you would rather have everyone in this room call you weirdoes than Farrow or Felix; is that so? How about for the rest of your life?" I said.

"Well…no." Felix mumbled.

"Let me tell you something," I then paused, "I'm going to tell everyone a story." I called.

Everyone's faces grew excited and they began to whisper excitedly. I huffed. "I need everyone's participation. Everyone, go sit in the reading corner and I'll be there soon."

"What are you doing?" Karin demanded as she returned with Kolyat.

I turned and faced the woman. "I'm going to prove a point…preschooler-style." I said.

Karin erupted into loud giggles and fought to silence them behind her hand. She shook from it as an effect. Kolyat on the other hand merely did a light face-palm and groaned out loud at my bad pun. "Mom, you've got to stop saying stuff like that." My step-son complained quietly so the kids wouldn't hear.

"Hush my son; I've got a story to tell." I said,

**~o~ Reading Time ~o~**

The moment I sat down in the chair, questions began to fire from the children. Mainly they asked, "What kind of story is it?"

"I need everyone to be quiet." I said and they hushed.

"Is it a war story?" Jex dared to ask.

I thought for a moment. "Kind of, it's more of an experience I learned." I answered.

However, to children, the terms 'kind of' and 'maybe' usually were associated with the word yes and they grew to get excited anyway. I sighed and cleared my throat to begin.

"Now this isn't a fairy tale, it doesn't start with once upon a time. So be warned, this is a little different." I said.

"I hope it's not scary…" Hewitt trembled and everyone hushed him.

_When I was commander of the Normandy, I knew right away that whatever I was doing that I couldn't do it alone. However, I also knew that humans alone wouldn't make a good team. I needed help from people who weren't like me, people who I might or might not get along with._

_I was going to need help, not getting around it._

_I ended up having a team with all kinds of people who I eventually was able to call my friends. They were amazing; I could rely on them to watch my back. _

_One was a turian named Garrus._

_There was also a Quarian named Tali-Zorah._

_Not to mention I also had a Krogan on my side named Urdnot Wrex._

_Lastly there was an asari named Liara._

_But I trusted them._

_However, the second time I commanded the Normandy…I picked up new members such as a Drell who's names was, and still is, Thane Krios. _

_Besides him, there was the salarian Mordin Solus, The asari justicar Samara, the Krogan, Urdnot Grunt, and last but not least there was even a Geth on my team that EDI named Legion. _

_However, we were all different species. There were bound to be fights. But, no one liked it when someone outside the crew put down someone on the inside. _

_We had landed on the Citadel after a long and hard mission. Everyone was tired and sore from the battle. Nobody wanted to go off the ship even. The following morning, we all went down and found a nice place to stay for a few days. However, my friend Garrus was having a hard time._

_Batarians shouldn't have been a problem for him. But he had taken a rough beating on the squad mission. He was down faster than he should have been. Even though I was running as fast as I could, I knew I wouldn't be able to make it in time. _

_One of the Batarians had pulled out a gun._

_I wasn't going to make it…and thankfully I didn't have to._

_Two roars, followed by two giant angry blurs, beat me there. Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Grunt were pinning the Batarians to the floor while I helped Garrus out of there and back to our building. The two Krogan came in soon after._

_I was shocked how easily Grunt put aside his dislike for Turians as he and Wrex helped me take care of Garrus. Grunt told me he refused to let some outsiders take down a member of my team. He wouldn't let that sort of shame come to pass._

_Wrex didn't want to see the Turian die. He claimed it would had been a dishonor and he…well…he accepted Garrus, despite everything._

_I couldn't have asked for a better team._

The kids cheered and clapped.

"Wow Mrs. Karin!"

"Tell us another story!"

"That was so cool!"

I laughed awkwardly but then everything went silent. I looked back up and stared in shock. The little Vorcha child, Sian, was standing just behind the crowd.

"I…I really like your story…" he mumbled shyly.

His voice was _smooth_…and he was absolutely adorable.

**~o~**

**This is really late and I apologize for that! That's for sticking with me guys! **

**I'm also kind of annoyed. There are almost two-hundred and fifty stories under my favorites…and it went without any updates for…can you believe it…six days!**

**I thought my phone might have gotten glitched there for a while…**

**Ah, well, whatever. Enjoy!**

**Chow,**

**Songbird 0.o**


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